Welcome to Consumercide.com    | Monte Paulsen: the cancer business

THE CANCER BUSINESS                                                  _________________________________________________________________           The same companies that profit from breast cancer treatments also manufacture   cancer-causing toxins.      by Monte Paulsen                Here in the United States, where health care is a business rather than    a right, the 182,000 women stricken by breast cancer annually are not    only an epidemic, but also a market opportunity.        The market is dominated by some of the world's largest    corporations --many of which also produce and release the toxic    organochlorine chemicals now suspected of causing breast cancer. These    companies have a vested financial interest in keeping breast cancer    research and advocacy pointed away from possible causes such as    corporate pollution and focused on the profitable businesses of cancer    detection and treatment.        The relationships between these corporations and such organizations as    the federally funded National Cancer Institute and the nonprofit    American Cancer Society are complex, but many argue that industry has    undue influence over the direction of cancer research. Here are a few    troubling examples:        Cures and causes. United Kingdom-based Zeneca Group PLC is the    undisputed leader in the breast cancer business, selling $470 million    a year of a controversial treatment drug called Nolvadex. Zeneca also    sells a carcinogenic herbicide called acetochlor, whose market is    estimated at $300 million annually. The company has been in hot water    for allegedly releasing organochlorines into the environment in 1990    Zeneca (then a branch of Imperial Chemical Industries, from which it    demerged in June 1993) was named in a lawsuit by federal and state    governments for allegedly dumping DDT and PCBs into Los Angeles and    Long Beach harbors. (The suit is pending.)        Nolvadex is Zeneca's trade name for tamoxifen citrate, a synthetic    hormone. Tamoxifen is not a cure for breast cancer --it helps prevent    recurrences in women who have been successfully treated for the    disease. But tamoxifen is also thought to cause uterine cancer and a    number of other health problems. In a study at the University of    Pittsburgh that began in 1981, 23 of the approximately 4,000 women    given tamoxifen contracted uterine cancer (as opposed to two from the    control group), and four of them died of it.        It is not clear how long Bernard Fisher, the lead scientist in the    study, knew of the uterine-cancer deaths. But until recently, women    volunteering for Fisher's new Breast Cancer Prevention Trial of    tamoxifen were told that o deaths from uterine cancer were reported    as a result of the earlier study. (On March 29, Fisher stepped down as    principal investigator of 14 federally funded studies. He had been    heavily criticized for his delays in disclosing research fraud in    several breast cancer studies, at least two of which recommended    tamoxifen.)        Recruitment of additional women into the prevention trial has been    temporarily halted, but the National Cancer Institute continues to    spend millions of taxpayer dollars giving tamoxifen to women who don't    have breast cancer to see if it will prevent them from developing the    disease. Tamoxifen is already the world's best-selling cancer drug,    but if it is approved for use as a prevention drug, Zeneca will be    able to increase sales dramatically.        Zeneca is not alone in simultaneously releasing organochlorines into    the environment and selling questionable and potentially dangerous    breast cancer treatments. Du Pont and General Electric, which compete    for the dubious distinction of having the highest number of EPA    Superfund hazardous waste sites, are also big players in the breast    cancer business. GE sells more than $100 million a year of mammography    machines, while Du Pont makes much of the film used in those machines.            There are about 14,000 mammography machines installed in the United    States. That's two to three times more than are needed, according to    an analysis by the National Cancer Institute. Those machines perform    about 24 million mammograms a year, nine out of 10 of which are    routine screenings performed on asymptomatic women. Several scientific    studies suggest that such routine mammography does not benefit women    under 50, and some researchers propose that it may actually increase    breast cancer risk. (See sidebar, opposite.)        Still, both Du Pont and GE aggressively market mammography to younger    women. A Du Pont TV ad even boasts that the company's new film akes    it safer to start mammography early.        Although the National Cancer Institute recently stopped advising    mammograms for women under 50, the American Cancer Society (to which    both Du Pont and GE contribute) continues to advise women to have    screening mammograms in their 40s.        Cancerous politics. Almost 15 years ago, in his book he Cancer    Syndrome, Ralph Moss described the complex arrangement of    interlocking committees, boards of directors, funding, and investments    that enable industry to exert substantial influence over cancer    research and advocacy. The types of conflict of interest which Moss    described are still in effect today, as are a few new ones.        Zeneca is a pioneer in new ways of influencing breast cancer activism.    Take the example of the 10-year-old National Breast Cancer Awareness    Month, which causes a talk-show frenzy each October and is supported    by both the National Cancer Institute and the American Cancer Society.    Few realize that Zeneca is the founder and sole financial sponsor of    awareness month, and has spent several million dollars on the event.    And the message awareness month spreads via hundreds of thousands of    posters, pamphlets, radio spots, newspaper ads, and promotional    videos? arly detection is your best prevention . . . get a mammogram    now.        This year, Zeneca is turning its attention to the workplace. Together    with fellow pharmaceutical makers Glaxo and Merck, Zeneca launched the    Industries Coalition Against Cancer in April. Its goal is to    encourage corporations to invest in ancer screening/prevention    programs such as  mammography unit on site, a mobile van program,    or perhaps a partnership with a cancer center.        Through these forays into pseudo-activism, companies like Zeneca have    made treatment, rather than root causes, the issue. The bottom line is    this: There's little profit in preventing breast cancer.        Monte Paulsen is a reporter living in South Carolina. Research    assistance was provided by Anna Snider. All Rights Reserved.